If I waved my magic wand and gave you $5000 to spend on any aspect of your style and wardrobe, how would you spend it? Before you let the cat out the bag, here are the rules for our imaginary shopping spree:

• You have to spend the money on yourself, so no sharing with family members or friends. This is about indulging you and only you.
• You have to spend it on fashion and style. No paying off of credit cards, buying of gifts, or donating to your favourite charities.
• You have to spend it within the time frame of one year. No saving for a rainy day.
• You can shop anywhere in the world, but the price of the plane ticket and accommodation will have to come out of the $5000 allowance.

It’s perfectly fine to blow your entire gift of style on a trip to Paris to purchase a Chanel bag of your choice. $5000 should just about cover that. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to shop online from home stalking bargains for a full 365 days to get the biggest bang for your fashion buck – that’s fabulous too. Perhaps you’d like to build a new walk-in wardrobe? Get hair extensions? Replace your shoe and handbag collection? Render the services of a fashion stylist? Purchase a timeless set of good quality wardrobe basics? Try botox? Let your imaginations run wild. No holding back and the world is your oyster.

Loafers are often labeled as dowdy, but not in my book. They can look cool when you choose an interesting style and pair them with a hip ensemble. Very Euro and always stylish.

Loafers tend to look a little more masculine than ballet flats, which makes them the more arty and edgy choice. I’ve always liked the look of loafers and now more than ever, view them as the “new look ballet flat” . So I’m slowly but surely adding fun loafers to my flat shoe collection.

When purchasing loafers, be mindful of the style detailing and think about how you will wear them with other items in your wardrobe. Here are some guidelines that may help:

• Low vs. high vamps: Generally, both high and low-vamped loafers work best with boot cuts, straight leg slacks or jeans. But loafers with low vamps can be worn with skirts, dresses and cropped pants as well. Add fun hosiery into the mix for an eclectic look.
• Sporty vs. retro styles: Styles with chunky rubber soles look more casual and aren’t quite as versatile as retro styles with refined rubber or leather soles. But if you’re after a completely casual look like the ones I got at the Tsonga Factory, then stick to wearing them with jeans.
• Interesting colour or texture: Loafers tend to look extra classic in a flat black and brown leather. This is ideal for those with a classic sense of style. But if you’re after a trendier vibe, choose loafers in a fun colour and interesting texture like the styles you see below.
• Add the attitude: It’s how you wear the ped that counts. One of my favourite ways of wearing the cream Tsonga loafers is with boot cut or straight leg jeans, a black top, scarf and belted burnt orange 70’s style vintage leather jacket with faux fur trim. The drama of the scarf and the edginess of the jacket offsets the classic integrity of the loafers. I dig that type of contrast.

Loafers are also great to wear with trouser socks or thin wool socks, which makes them a super alternative to booties, ankle boots, ballet flats or fashion sneakers. A nice closed shoe option for nippy weather.

An assortment of fun loafers. All the vamps are high except for those on the pewter and purple pairs, so those are the types of styles that you could pair with skirts, dresses and hose.

Denim leggings or leggings jeans are a great substitute for skinny jeans that are tucked into boots. They look just like 5-pocket jeans, but are sleeker, softer and very stretchy. This clearly screams practical comfort.

As much as I encourage the look of tucking skinnies into knee-high or mid-calf boots, I realize that it’s not equally comfortable for all. There’s often unwanted fabric bunching, or not enough room in the boots to accommodate the excess fabric of the jeans. Enter denim leggings, which are made of thinner and more supple denim. They offer an extra tight fit without cutting off your circulation. No more bunching or excess fabric. Woohoo!

Because denim leggings fit a little tighter around the crotch and thigh area, match up the look with longer tunic tops and knitwear. Once you’ve added tall boots to the mix, you should feel adequately covered. You might find that you reserve denim leggings solely for the purpose of tucking into boots.

Denim leggings or leggings jeans are available in most department stores and online sites. The ones that you see here (from the Nordstrom Junior department) are my top pick at the moment ($39). They have worked for both curvy and straight body types and all sorts of heights and ages as long as the rest of the ensemble components are right. Tucking skinnies into boots has never been so easy.

You may have noticed that we have a few new sponsors here at YLF. We thought some introductions were in order.

Reading in Style

A. J. Morgan Eyewear is a fashion forward reader and sunglasses collection with over 1000 designs and colours in their range. Their eclectic designs immediately caught my eye, and my only disappointment was that some of the great looks weren’t also available as frames for regular glasses. As Leonard Derse from A.J. Morgan puts it:

“If you’re in the mood for adventure and want to express your unique personality, then A. J. Morgan Eyewear is the place for you. With over 1,000 designs and colors we know you’ll find the eclectic pair that fits your style.”

Comfort for the Well Endowed

We first got to know Carissa Brown from Bratique Helene (update: now rebranded as Carissa Rose) when Nicole from the YLF forum reviewed her product back in January. Carissa is an expert on the busty figure and her clothing line, Bratique Helene, addresses the special needs of the curvy (but not plus sized) woman. Carissa is passionate about the benefits of her product:

“Just check out this before & after video for some excellent pointers on how to create a streamlined silhouette and make the most of your assets. Remember, being well endowed is a blessing and not a curse.”

Asian Fashion and Lifestyle

YesStyle.com is one of the first online retailers who cater specifically to those interested in Asian fashion and lifestyle products. They house over 300 brands from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Stefan Janssens of YesStyle wanted to point out that the online retailer now also has a brick and mortar store:

“This year, on top of celebrating our 3rd anniversary and due to immense demand, we also celebrated the grand opening of the first YesStyle Store, located in San Francisco, California.”

We’re excited that these sponsors have decided to use YLF to reach their target market, and we’d like to thank them for helping to support our investment in the wonderful YLF community.